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Amid a slow start this season that has them hovering around the play-in mix in the Western Conference, the Golden State Warriors are unlikely to significantly shake up their roster prior to the trade deadline.
Per The Athletic’s Sam Amick, the Warriors are “staunchly against” trading either Draymond Green or Jimmy Butler.
The Warriors do have Jonathan Kuminga’s salary to include in a trade. All indications at this point are that the 23-year-old won’t remain in Golden State past the Feb. 5 trade deadline.
Kuminga, who is making $22.5 million this season and has a $24.3 million team option for 2026-27, on his own seems unlikely to bring back a significant return that will help push the Warriors closer to the top teams in the West.
Even if the Warriors wanted to put Green and/or Butler in a trade, it’s unclear how much they would bring back. They are both in their mid-30s and don’t look like they are in their prime anymore.
Green is also hard to figure out because of his mercurial nature, which includes a recent heated exchange on the bench with head coach Steve Kerr during a Dec. 22 win over the Orlando Magic.
Butler has been criticized at times this season for a lack of aggressiveness on the offensive end of the court. The six-time All-Star remains efficient as a scorer, averaging 19.7 points per game on 51.6 percent shooting.
Another issue, beyond how valuable Green and Butler are, is the Warriors don’t have many other contracts they can include in a trade to land a potential difference-making player.
The Warriors are reportedly interested in Anthony Davis, but they can’t fit his $54.1 million salary onto their salary cap without trading either Butler ($54.1 million salary in 2025-26) on his own in a one-for-one deal or a combination of Kuminga and Green ($48.4 million combined salaries).
Golden State can talk itself into things getting better with its current core of Butler, Green and Stephen Curry since those three have all missed at least nine games so far this season.
But they are also older players with extensive injury histories that it wouldn’t be a surprise if any or all of them were to miss time as the season goes on. It’s an impossible situation the Warriors front office finds itself in, and they only five weeks before the trade deadline to land on a resolution.
The Warriors enter Wednesday with a 17-16 record, eighth in the Western Conference. They are four games behind the Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves to avoid the play-in tournament.